1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to individual control and regulation of a vehicle climate control system based on an intensity and a direction of incident solar radiation.
2. Description of the Background Art
It is common practice to regulate and/or control an air conditioning unit by indirectly determining solar radiation through the outside temperature and the temperature inside the vehicle. DE 198 29 143 C1 is based on such a method.
DE 197 44 414 A1 describes an automotive air conditioning system with a plurality of operating modes, which are automatically set according to a predeterminable target region of operation, that is, the region where the vehicle is currently located. Such target regions of operation are, among others, Germany, the USA etc., whereby the different comfort levels of the respective population is also taken into consideration. To automatically set a mode of operation, a control unit is connected with a navigation system, which has a sensor to receive the GPS data.
DE 198 02 594 A1 also describes a method for controlling devices for automatic driving functions, like setting a climate profile for an air conditioning system. With the aid of data, which provide information about the current location, country-specific programs are initialized. Apart from GPS data, RDS data (Radio Data System), which includes country-specific information, is also downloaded.
A method for controlling/regulating of heat flows in the vehicle is disclosed in DE 199 53 511 A1. It is known therefrom to detect the current ambiance through GPS data or to record it through signals, which are recorded by a built-in cartographic ambiance model. However, the control/regulation itself is driven by the current load state of the vehicle's motor and the current vehicle operation and ambient conditions.
Furthermore, in DE 199 02 201 A1, a method and corresponding device for regulating the interior temperature of a vehicle are disclosed. Here, depending on an individually desired interior temperature and a recorded exterior temperature at a destination point, the interior temperature is slowly adjusted to the climate that is prevailing at the destination point to guard against an unwelcome temperature shock.
From DE 40 24 431 C2, a conventional method for controlling an automotive air conditioning system is known, whereby an even conditioning of the air based on the quantity of solar radiation is achieved by controlling the amount of air released from a right and left air distribution vent. This control takes the preferences of a passenger into consideration. The interior temperature is automatically regulated with the aid of a sun direction analyzer that determines the direction of the incident sun radiation by two solar radiation sensors, and a sun intensity analyzer for computing the intensity of the sun radiation. The solar radiation sensors measure the incident sun radiation to the right and left of the vehicle.
However, optimum comfort regulation in the vehicle can only be achieved when not only the actual sun intensity, but also the position of the sun in relation to the vehicle is known.
A sun position detector for determining the angle of incidence as well as the direction of the incident sun beams is described in DE 197 48 826 C1. This sensor includes a shadow mask, which has a slot that allows sun light to pass through. Depending on the angle of incidence of the solar radiation passing through the slot, different positions of a sensor array located below are radiated allowing a definite evaluation regarding the angle of incidence and the incident direction of the solar radiation. The object here is to actuate vehicle lights with these signals. Not measured is the intensity of the incident sun radiation.
From DE 40 41 770 C1, the structure of a sun sensor is known.